Angels Fall First
by Shenya
Summary: Something weird is going on... Malik's darker personality has captured them, and there really is nothing they can do about the situation, is there...?


Angels Fall First, by Shenya  
  
Where was he? I couldn't see him, I couldn't see anyone... Where were they? The one I wanted to avoid, the others I wanted to find, it might bring at least some safety. Where were they?  
  
This was terrible. I shouldn't have started panicking, I should have tried to keep my calm, I shouldn't have started running away...  
  
---flashback---  
  
"What is there to life other than that, then? Tell me... I really want to know"  
  
We all were backing away in front of him, his crazy eyes, his cruelly murderous expression that was so carefree in the same time. Mou hitori no Yuugi-kun was standing right before the rest of us, closer to him than any other, trying to protect us. His friends. But there was nothing he could do now, was there? This darkness was something that he couldn't bring light to, that he couldn't vanquish after all...  
  
"Friendship. Love. Living in itself is worth it"  
  
The person facing us pondered on this a while, tapping the end of the Rod against his chin, seemingly lost in thought. He had stopped advancing for a while, and we took the opportunity to take a few extra steps away from him. Mou hitori no Yuugi-kun stayed where he was, though, he wasn't one to take extra measures in safety when it was about him only. Perhaps he thought that this way he could protect us better, although I couldn't see how.  
  
"...no. I don't think so. Life, living...it's all about death in the end. It's all about the darkness, dimming the light, taking away the hope"  
  
I shook my head, still not wanting to believe him. He only wanted to kill us all, to bring eternal darkness to the world. There were no good intentions in him, there was no reason why we should believe him. So why did I feel this terrible thing, that what he said was actually the truth? Why did I _want_ to believe him?  
  
"That's one more wrong answer for you. Don't you think you deserve a punishment?"  
  
He pointed at Jounouchi-kun with his Rod. This was it, then... The exact same thing that had happened to Honda-kun. He was... They were...  
  
Doomed?  
  
I didn't know what to call it. They just...simply didn't move anymore. They were alive, but they didn't move, they hardly even breathed... We had had to leave Honda-kun behind when Malik's darker personality had found as again... We had managed to escape together that time, when he had taken Honda-kun... Whatever he had done to him. We were all confused about that, and we couldn't stop worrying about him. Was he even alive anymore?  
  
There was a blinding light, once more. I looked to the side, seeing the unmoving body of Jounouchi-kun. He had tried to avoid it, he was crouching down, an expression of surprise on his face. Tears were clouding my eyes, but they didn't fall. I couldn't cry now, I had to be stronger than this... I had to survive.  
  
"Two down, four more to go..."  
  
We were a bit scattered on the hallway now, mou hitori no Yuugi-kun a bit before me, Anzu and Otogi-kun, and they were on the other side of Jounouchi- kun's frozen body than I was. I looked at Anzu and could see that she was holding back tears, too. Otogi-kun merely looked like he was trapped. That's what we all felt, though... Trapped in this strange place.  
  
He suddenly started advancing on us again, taking quick steps forward, startling mou hitori no Yuugi-kun, nearly making him fall. Thankfully he managed to straighten himself, telling the rest of us to run.  
  
That we did, and I could hear him following us. Hear the other one laugh in the hallway behind us, know that we had left Jounouchi-kun behind... But we had had no other choice!  
  
"I'll get you back, Jounouchi, I swear..."  
  
I could hear mou hitori no Yuugi-kun mumbling under his breath, but the solemn promise was horribly twisted with the insane laughter that followed us, echoing off the walls, chasing us like he was behind us himself, making the fear in our hearts grow.  
  
Where was the light now? We needed to find our way into the light... We needed to get out of here... The light was how we had arrived, so we had thought that was our way out, too. But when Malik no yami no jinkaku arrived... The light vanished. So did our way out. We were hunted now, we were simply prey to this darkness that covered every corner of this place. Whatever this place was.  
  
---end of flashback---  
  
That was how I had ended up alone. Malik no yami no jinkaku had suddenly appeared there, just behind us, when we had stopped for breath... I had freaked out, and started on another direction than mou hitori no Yuugi-kun and Anzu. This place was a maze, there constantly were turns.  
  
I really wanted to find them again, but I guess I didn't have a chance of that. This place was huge... I didn't want to turn back, I might be going straight to Malik no yami no jinkaku then. And even if I did, I wasn't sure what way to go anymore... There were new doors all the time, leading to other hallways, sometimes even big rooms. But there was no actual light anywhere, everything was covered in this eternal gloom. There were no windows, no tapestries, no carpets, only stone walls and stone floors, and the stony ceiling above.  
  
I was walking forward, rubbing my arms, trying to stay warm and contain my fear. It was cold here, and every strange swirling shadow in this place seemed to me like the one who was after...  
  
And yes, the shadows were swirling, like water that someone had put their hand on. Moving and twisting, like something had just walked from there, leaving little whirlwinds of darkness at their wake. I didn't want to see it, so I mostly kept my eyes at the centre of the somewhat broad hallway, not looking too far ahead. But I had to glance there every now and then, I couldn't risk walking straight into something dangerous.  
  
It seemed like an eternity that I had walked here, not daring to take any of the doors at my sides, not daring to open them in case someone was waiting for me behind them... But once again risking a glance ahead, I now saw that I'd have no choice. This hall ended, there were only two doors at the sides of it. I froze when I saw that, hugging myself tightly. I'd have to open one of those doors now... I'd have to go through, I'd have to count on my own ability to choose... Or did I?  
  
Perhaps there _was_ some other choice...  
  
Glancing down at the Ring at my chest, covered by my arms partially, I chewed on my lips. Would it work...? It did for the spirit inside of me... And I carried it, after all, it _should_ work, right?  
  
I walked to the doors, stopping at the centre of the hallway, taking a deep breath and grabbing the Ring. It wouldn't hurt to try, would it?  
  
I held the ancient artefact before me, really hoping that something would happen... And to my surprise, something did happen. One of the pointers started glowing and pointed to my right. I looked at the door hesitantly. Would I dare?  
  
But this was my best bet... If I didn't take this hint, I'd have to choose by myself. And even so, my judgement would be affected by the Ring's advice already, wouldn't it?  
  
Taking a deep breath, I took the few steps I needed to take to reach the door, and opened it. There didn't seem to be anything there... I stepped into the other hallway, closing the door carefully behind me.  
  
That's when I noticed it... There _was_ something there!  
  
Giving a small startled cry I stumbled backwards...right into something soft. My mind froze, I couldn't move anymore. What had I gotten myself into? Why hadn't I stayed in the other hallway, or even picked the other door?  
  
For I was looking forward into the wide eyes of mou hitori no Yuugi-kun, Otogi-kun and Anzu. That would mean... That the person behind me was...  
  
"How charming... This must be fate, that such a pretty young boy would stumble into my arms"  
  
I was right. I was right, it _was_ him! What would I do now? What was there to do when the darkness caught you...?  
  
Nothing.  
  
Absolutely nothing...  
  
I slowly turned my head so I could look up to him, up to the dark purple eyes of Malik no yami no jinkaku, at the dark skin and the wildly flying hair of his. At that crazed expression of the one born of hatred and fear and anger and hate and the desire to do something about a situation you felt so very helpless in... Of the desire to help a loved one.  
  
How could it be so dark?  
  
How could it be so blindingly dark, so absolutely terrifying, so boundlessly fascinating?  
  
I could feel his arms moving to envelope me, I could feel the cold length of the Rod pressing into my own arms when I feebly tried to make him let go, still looking up at him.  
  
Everything was so...dream-like. I couldn't move as fast as I wanted to, I couldn't speak at all, I couldn't stop looking up at his captivating eyes, which were looking down at me, so expressionless.  
  
"See now, little Bakura Ryou? See how the darkness captures everything on its path?"  
  
His mouth slowly formed those words, pronouncing every single syllable with precision. I could see his lips move through the haze that was covering my mind, but most of my attention was still in his eyes. They were coming closer to me, weren't they? Those eyes, those lips...  
  
Something tickled my face, and I realized it was his hair, sliding smoothly on my skin as the gravity pulled it downwards along with the movement of his head, coming closer, closer, always closer...  
  
And then I could feel his lips on mine, feather-light, kissing my thoughts away.  
  
---scene change---  
  
The night of the desert, the sky above us, the moon casting its eerie glow at the sand. I stood closer to him than my friends, offering them the feeble protection I could give.  
  
Jounouchi was to the right of me, I could feel his shock radiating from him, his grief for our friend. Anzu, Honda and Otogi were somewhere there, too, we were all in this together. Aibou was inside his soul room, watching in shock at the person before us.  
  
He was standing before us, silently holding the body of Bakura, the gentle Bakura who had been the holder of the Sennen Ring, the host for the spirit of Bakura, the one who had lived in ancient times with me... The one who was dead now. The first victim to the darkness.  
  
"You see it now, don't you, 'Pharaoh'... The darkness always wins"  
  
Curse him and his dark heart for doing this to us.  
  
---  
  
AN: Don't own Yugioh. This is a oneshot, or at least intended as a one... So there very probably won't be a sequel. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Any questions? Feel free to ask...  
  
mou hitori no Yuugi-kun - 'the other Yuugi', or 'the other Yugi'. A bit more polite form of it than simply calling him Yuugi/Yugi. What Yami really is called in the Japanese manga/anime  
  
Malik no yami no jinkaku - 'the dark personality of Malik' or something along those lines. What Yami Malik really is called in the Japanese manga/anime  
  
aibou - partner. What mou hitori no Yuugi calls Yuugi  
  
sennen - millennium/thousand years 


End file.
